Guide for attaching a lamp to a wall



Oct. 2, 1956 N. R. SCHWARTZ 2,764,817

GUIDE FOR ATTACHING A LAMP TO A WALL Filed March 18, 1952 INVENTOR. Muir sun/ mi.

United States Patent GUIDE FOR ATTACHING A LAMP TO A WALL Nathan Rodney Schwartz, New York, N. Y., assignor to Naras Research, Inc., New York, N. Y.

Application March 18, 1952, Serial No. 277,102

1 Claim. (Cl. 33-189) This invention relates broadly to a template for the drilling of holes and the alignment of the same for attaching an object to a supporting surface.

An object, such as for instance an electrical lighting fixture which is intended to be secured to a supporting surface such as for instance a wall, is usually provided with a base having a plurality of openings therein for the passage of nails therethrough, by which the fixture is secured to a supporting surface. In order to secure the fixture to the supporting surface, it is necessary to drill holes in the supporting surface in exactly the right places and of exactly the right size, so that, when the lamp base is placed thereover, the openings in the base will be in alinement with the holes in the supporting surface, in order that nails or other attaching means may be passed through the openings and retained in the supporting surface. Simple as this may seem, this is not a procedure which a layman can readily follow. The exact spacing of the holes requires the hand and the eye of an expert; the exact size of the holes requires the use of precise tools, and it is almost impossible to prevent the supporting surface from cracking.

With this in view, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a guide for drilling of holes and the alignment of the same in the mounting or attaching of a lighting fixture to a supporting surface, comprising an indicator attachable to a supporting surface, which will show the exact place where holes must be drilled.

And it is a further aim of the present invention to provide a support member, which is adapted to act as a bridge between the indicator and the lamp base.

A still further advantage of the present invention resides in the provision of a guide including an indicator which is provided with means for attaching it to a supporting surface, the attaching means tending to make the covered area of the supporting surface cohesive, thus minimizing if not eliminating entirely the danger of cracking the supporting surface.

And yet another aim of the present invention resides in the provision of a guide including a support bridge by means of which a lamp may be attached to a supporting surface which is not entirely smooth.

These and other meritorious aims and advantages, which will become more fully apparent as the description hereof proceeds, are attained by the novel construction, combination and arrangement of few and simple parts, hereinafter described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, forming a material component of this disclosure, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a lamp base, attached to a supporting surface by means of the attaching guide of the present invention, the lighting fixture being illustrated in broken lines.

Figure 2 is a front view of an indicator forming part of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a rear view of the indicator illustrated .in Figure 2, part of the protective paper covering having been removed to expose the adhesive substance.

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Figure 4 is a front elevational view of a support bridge which constitutes a part of the present invention.

Figure 5 illustrates diagrammatically the process of drilling a hole in a supporting surface, preparatory to securing an object thereto, the chisel and nail here illustrated forming a part of the guide set.

Figure 6 illustrates diagrammatically the process of securing the support bridge to the supporting surface.

Figure 7 illustrates diagrammatically the base plate of an object attached to a support; and

Figure 8 is a plan view of the device illustrated in Figure 1.

Referring in greater detail to the drawing, the numeral 15 illustrates in general the base of an object to be attached to a supporting surface, the object here indicated for the purpose of illustration being an arm 16 of an electrical lighting fixture, the arm and lighting fixture being shown in broken lines. They will hereinafter not be any more specifically referred to, since they do not form a part of the present invention.

The present invention comprises in part an indicator 17. The indicator 17 is here illustrated as being made of paper, although other suitable and desirable materials may be used. Indicator 17 is here illustrated as being circular in cross-section, since base 15 is circular in crosssection. Obviously, the indicator should have the same contour as the base in association with which it is used.

At spaced intervals near the outer edge thereof, indicated 17, is provided with markings 18 throughout its periphery, each of the said markings 18 indicating the place where a hole is to be chiseled in the supporting surface. Indicator 17 may also be provided with a centrally located opening 19. Indicator 17 may be provided near the outer edge thereof with two diametrically opposed openings 20.

The rear of indicator 17 may be covered with an adhesive substance 21, over which may be placed a protective cover 22, here illustrated as being made of two semicircular pieces of paper, the dividing line being illustrated at 23. Figure 3 illustrates at 24- a part of the protective cover being removed to expose the adhesive substance.

The invention further comprises a mounting ring or bridge 25 provided near the outer edge thereof with two diametrically opposed internally threaded openings 26, and it is also provided at spaced intervals throughout its periphery near the outer edge thereof, with a plurality of openings 27 and 28. Inasmuch as the object to be attached is here illustrated as being an electrical lighting fixture, mounting ring 25 may be provided at its outer edge and at diametrically opposed sides thereof with slots 29 for the passage of electrical wire 30.

Each of the threaded openings 26 is located centrallly of a boss 31 for the cover 32 of the base plate of the object to be attached. At 33 there are illustrated the screws with which the mounting ring is attached to a supporting surface, and at 34 there are: illustrated the screws by which the base plate is attached to the mounting ring. Merely for the purpose of illustration, 35 refers to the swivel joint which is attached to base 32 and which forms a part of the lighting fixture hereabove referred to.

The device is used in the following manner: After the exact spot on the supporting surface has been determined to which an object is to be attached, the protective covering 22 is removed from indicator 17 in an obvious manner, to expose the gummed rear surface of the said indicator 17. The gummed surface 21 is then placed upon the selected spot upon supporting surface 36. Slight pressure against the supporting surface will keep indicator 17 firmly attached thereto. Obviously, indicator 17 is placed against the supporting surface 36 in .such manner that the legend up will be on top and down on the bottom, as illustrated in Figure 2, the legends being, imprinted upon the said indicator 17.

The next step lies in chiseling holes into the supporting surface. Experience has shown that best results can be obtained only when the holes are of exactly the right diameter. In order to make this possible, each of the attaching devices will be placed upon the market together with a small envelope containing a punch 39 having a handle 40 and a bit 38. Bit 38 will be placed successively against each of the said indicia 13 and, by using hammer 41 in an obvious manner, openings of exactly the right size will be provided. It may occur, that one or more of the indicia 18 will be over a dead spot in supporting surface 36. For that purpose a plurality of indicia 18 are provided. EXperience has further shown that it is of the utmost importance that screws 33 be of exactly the right diameter and length since, if the screws are too short, they will not grip the supporting surface firmly and if they are too long they tend to crack the supporting surface. Therefore, the envelope containing the punch Will also contain eight screws of exactly the right size.

After the openings have been made, mounting ring 25 will be placed over indicator 17 in such manner that the threaded screw openings 26 will be in alinement with corresponding openings in the indicator, and the openings 27 will be in alinement with the corresponding open ings indicated by the indicia 18 of the indicator. Four screws will hold the ring firmly and securely in place. Base plate 32 will then be placed upon the mounting ring in such manner, that the openings 26 will be in alinement with corresponding openings in the said base plate 32. One screw in each opening will securely retain the lighting fixture against a supporting surface.

If at any time it should be necessary to remove the lamp, the steps here indicated need merely be reversed. Modifications will present themselves through use. For instance, when the wall is covered with wall paper, it may be desirable not to cover the entire surface of the rear of indicator 17 with an adhesive substance, but merely a small area in the center thereof so that, when the lamp is removed, only a very small area of the wall paper will be defaced. Another modification lies in providing the indicator and the mounting ring of the contour of the base to be attached, since some objects may not have a circular base. For the purpose of illustration, a lighting fixture is here shown as being attached against a wall. Obviously other objects, such as for instance a mirror or a fan may be attached in like manner to a shelf or a closet.

Thus there has been shown and described a guide for the chiseling of holes and alinement of the same in the mounting of an object to a supporting surface in the preferred form of its embodiment, but it is to be understood that the foregoing disclosure is to be regarded merely as descriptive and illustrative of the best known form and not as restrictive or limitative of the exact details shown, applicant reserving the right to make such changes and modifications in the construction thereof as may come within the scope of the appended claim with out thereby departing from the spirit and the scope of the present invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent, is:

A guide to facilitate the securing of an object to a support, said guide comprising a mounting ring adapted to be secured to a disc-shaped support and a base member interposable between said mounting ring and the support, a plurality of spaced-apart radially disposed indicia on said base member near the outer edge thereof indicating where holes are to be drilled in the support, and means providing a plurality of spaced-apart openings in said mounting ring, said openings when said mounting ring is superimposed upon said base member corresponding to and aligned with the indicia on said base member for the passage of fastening means therethrough and into the support, said mounting ring completely obscuring said indicia when said mounting ring is superimposed upon said base member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 292,463 Bassett Jan. 29, 1884 664,910 Voight Jan. 1, 1901 1,560,029 Erickson Nov. 3, 1925 1,915,230 Hooper June 20, 1933 2,187,087 Leary Jan. 16, 1940 2,190,582 Wolf Feb. 13, 1940 2,209,653 Larsson July 30, 1940 2,215,331 Marsh Sept. 17, 1940 2,340,521 Engert Feb. 1, 1944 2,647,325 Little Aug. 4-, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 90,813 Sweden Nov. 16, 1937 259,222 Switzerland June 1, 1946 

